Internet Cat Videos Get Their Own Film Festival

Cat video lovers rejoice! Later this summer the Walker Arts Center’s Open Field in Minneapolis is holding an Internet Cat Video Film Festival and it’s going to be a-meow-zing!
Katie Czarniecki Hill, Walker Open Field’s “Cat-lady-in-Residence,” writes on the Walker Art Center blog, “Walker Open Field welcomes cat lovers (and challenges haters – c’mon, you know who you are) to openly release your cat-video-induced giggles and emotions that are otherwise muffled by computer screens and constrained by cubicles…Come together on Open Field and LOL in the presence of others. Experience the shared joy of a surprised kitten or keyboard cat and discover new favorites in this carefully curated series of cat videos.”

The Internet Cat Video Film Festival will take place on August 30 from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM in the big green Open Field outside the Walker Art Center.

I’m not exactly sure what it is about cat videos that is so gosh-darn entertaining, but pretty much since online video has existed cats have been at the forefront. Ad agencies have joked that the future of advertising is cat videos, studios have waxed poetic on the serious business of cat viral video production, cats have been surprised, had conversations and played keyboards, garnering tens of millions of views in the process. So it seems like it was only a matter of time before someone put together a film festival dedicated solely to these little purring maniacs.

The Internet Cat Film Festival isn’t taking place until the end of August, but they’re currently accepting nominations through the end of July to determine which cat videos will make it into the festival. Below are a few of my favorite cat videos. Which videos do you think deserve to be in Walker Open Field’s cat-tastic event?

Megan O’Neill is the resident web video enthusiast here at Social Times. Megan covers everything from the latest viral videos to online video news and tips, and has a passion for bizarre, original and revolutionary content and ideas.